Her Knight in Shining Armor
by Retsphe
Summary: He was always her knight in Shining Armor. (ON HOLD, SORRY)
1. Astronomy

**Creative title, right? :P**

**This will basically just be a series of oneshots. 26, to be exact. I'm using the letters of the alphabet for prompts (words that start with A, words that start with B, etc.). So... here's prompt one...**

**Setting:: Before the events of "A Canterlot Wedding." Twilight has arrived in Ponyville, and Shining Armor is not yet the Captain of the Royal Guard, but he is a member of it. Shining Armor and Princess Cadance are in the middle of a clearing—possibly on top of a hill somewhere, I haven't decided, so use your imagination—where the stars are very clearly visible.  
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**Disclaimer:: I do not own My Little Pony, nor the characters in this fanfiction. The "cover" of this fanfiction was painted by *johnjoseco on DeviantArt, titled "Off to do my Duty."  
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**Inspired by a scene in The Lion King 2.  
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**A - Astronomy  
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**"What are you doing?"

Princess Cadance turned her head to glance at the source of the voice; her curious gaze was greeted by a very confused-looking Shining Armor.

"Watching the stars," the pale cerise mare replied.

"The stars," mused Shining Armor. "Twilight always loved astronomy. If she wasn't studying, she'd be staring into her telescope from dusk till dawn."

Cadance frowned, knowing full well how much the white stallion missed his sister. Her purple eyes glittered as she grinned and inquired, "Would you like to watch them with me?"

"Uh... Sure," Shining Armor muttered, lowering himself onto the lush grass, desperately hoping that Cadance would not see the light blush that spread across his cheeks in the darkness. He rolled onto his back and stared up at the coal-black sky, whispering, "I've never done this before."

"Really?"

"Really."

The two ponies indulged in each others' company, neither of them saying a word. "Aren't some of the stars supposed to make a picture or something?" Shining Armor wondered aloud, breaking the silence.

"Those are called constellations," Cadance answered.

For a moment, Shining Armor simply reveled in the alicorn's voice washing over him, until she snapped him out of his trance by murmuring, "Look, that one is the Ursa Major."

Shining Armor followed her gaze, commenting, "It looks just like a real ursa major..."

"Hence the name."

"Oh... Right."

Cadance let out a girlish giggle, allowing Shining Armor to zone out for a few seconds.

_The stars look like they're dancing... right in the middle of her eyes... _Shining Armor thought fleetingly, before mentally slapping himself in the face, averting his own cerulean eyes from hers. _Gah, stop it, Shining!_

"We have a beautiful view from here," Cadance realized suddenly. Shining Armor returned his gaze to Cadance.

"Yeah... We do...," the stallion whispered, staring directly at his companion. Cadance blushed lightly and turned her head so it was facing away from the unicorn beside her. "Stop it," she muttered, attempting to hide her smile.

"You're telling me to stop, but I don't think you want me to," Shining Armor replied jokingly. He chuckled lightly when he heard her huff in mock annoyance and continued, "But, if you really want me to..."

"No, wait!" exclaimed Cadance as Shining Armor rolled onto his hooves and stood up. The Royal Guard looked down at her, one eyebrow quirked, as she stuttered helplessly.

"I-I mean... uh... w-will you... just... um... please stay?" she asked weakly, offering him a small smile and wide eyes.

Shining Armor flashed a grin and lay down on his stomach, craning his neck to look at the stars again. Cadance rolled onto her own stomach and nuzzled him gently, causing him to blush and stare down at her.

"W-what was that for?" he stammered.

"For not leaving me."

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**Good enough, aye? At least, for my first romance-related thing ever. :P**

**R&R please... maybe give me a prompt that starts with the letter B.  
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	2. Busy

******Setting::** Basically the same as chapter one (Astronomy), but maybe about a month or so after that.  


******Disclaimer::**** I do not own My Little Pony or any of the characters in this fanfic. I also stole the fifth sentence from The Legend of Derpy, but I changed it to past-tense (and added the word "also"). :P  
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**Prompt suggested by The Legend of Derpy. I hope this is to your liking. :3  
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**B - Busy  
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He was a captain of the Royal Guard, sworn in by Princess Celestia herself. Bound by oath, he had vowed to protect Equestria at any cost. The hardened stallion patrolled vigorously, fought bravely, and stood vigilant guard over Canterlot day in and day out. Nopony could distract him from his work, for the blue-eyed unicorn was much too dedicated to the protection of his home.

Nopony but Cadance, of course.

Shining Armor also cherished the time he spent with Cadence, but what with the duties alicorns have, he didn't get much time with his beloved. At her word, he was willing to leave his station unguarded, quit the Royal Guard—hay, he'd risk his life for that mare! He was head over hooves for the princess, and everypony knew it. No pony nor thing ever dared to get in the way of the duo spending time together.

Nothing except business, of course.

Lately, Cadance's visits had become scarce and far between.

"Where are you going?" Shining Armor demanded one muggy afternoon as the princess trotted out of the palace, unfolding her wings.

"Can't tell you," Cadance told him with a wink and a small grin. "Business."

And with that, she had launched herself into the air, flying away from a very confused, distraught Shining Armor.

That night, Shining Armor stood guard in a watchtower, staring down at the glamorous city of Canterlot. A cold breeze nipped at him, but the stallion remained stagnant, his icy gaze scanning the area for any signs of danger. Heaving a sigh, he raised his eyes to the sky and stared at the stars for a moment, recalling the first time he had ever star-gazed. _With Candace,_ he reminded himself subconsciously, lowering his eyes again.

The days went on much like this. Shining Armor would focus his mind on work, pushing the thoughts of Candace towards the back of his mind; under any other circumstance, these thoughts would have been welcomed, but the white-pelted pony decided that work was more important than worrying about a mare that he had barely seen for weeks. With each passing day, Shining Armor seemed to become much less lively and much more serious, briskly ordering his troops about with a harshness not usually seen in the unicorn. When asked about his change of behavior, he refused to answer, brushing off the inquiry as if it were never posed to him. His patience was worn thin, and he had become slightly more hostile towards his insubordinate troops, even going so far as to threaten to have them fired if they didn't follow his orders correctly. It came as no surprise that the stallion seemed almost livid when being pestered by his "adoring fans," mostly mares, opting to run from the infatuated ponies rather than bashfully answer their questions as he used to.

Shining Armor sat heavily on his haunches, gazing up at the indigo sky as the moon was gradually raised, casting its ghostly light on the clearing in which he was situated. This was a common place for the captain to reminisce, wishing in vain that he would once again be able to live with the zeal of an ambitious foal. It seemed as though all of the enthusiasm had been sucked out of him, the fervor torn from inside of him. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of soft hooves landing on the ground with a small _thud,_ then trotting towards him. Shining Armor whipped around, gaping at the pink alicorn that had made her way to his side.

"What are_ you_ doing here?" Shining Armor whispered sharply, his voice almost as cold as the wind. Princess Cadance flinched and answered, "I'm here to see _you_, of course."

"Are you sure you're not just going to leave again?" the stallion retorted bitterly, turning away from her and staring at his hooves. Cadance's wings snapped open in angry defiance.

"Well, if you're going to be rude, I may as well!" she exclaimed angrily, furrowing her brows.

"Yeah? Well, maybe you should!"

"Fine!"

_"Fine!"_

With one last glare at Shining Armor, Cadance took to the air and soared away, refusing to look back. Regret immediately washed over Shining Armor, and the despondent pony followed the fleeing alicorn with his eyes, thinking hopelessly to himself, _Oh, Celestia, what have I done?_

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Princess Celestia simply stared down at Shining Armor, shocked, as he wrapped up his story. "And I just don't know what to do!" he exclaimed sorrowfully.

"The best thing to do would be to apologize," Celestia offered.

"Apologize? I doubt she even wants to see me again," the unicorn murmured, eyes downcast.

"Don't knock it till you try it, Shining Armor."

"... Alright. Thanks," he grunted heavily, bowing, before galloping towards Cadance's bedchamber. The stallion rapped the maple door, ignoring the guard that had dutifully saluted him, stepping aside to allow the captain to approach it. Princess Cadance cracked the door open, only to see a very pitiful-looking Captain of the Royal Guard, eyes pleading for her to grant him entry.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Cadance inquired, opening the door fully, a biting edge evident in her voice. Her eyes were slightly red, as if she had been crying, and Shining Armor felt a sharp pang of guilt strike him in the gut. "I-I wanted to apologize," the white pony began, stepping into the bedchamber and closing the door behind him. Cadance raised a brow, beckoning him to continue.

With a heavy sigh, Shining Armor added sadly, "I shouldn't have said what I did earlier tonight, and I'm sorry. It's just that... you haven't been around much, and I half-expected you to just fly away again. I was hurt and upset, so I channeled those feelings into anger and directed them at everypony who talked to me... I'm sorry. Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

Cadance's eyes welled up with tears as she returned, "Of course I forgive you... and... I'm sorry, too. I should have made time for you... I know you would've done the same for me."

Shining Armor walked straight up to Cadance and nuzzled her gently, murmuring, "Let's just put this behind us. It wasn't entirely your fault—business, right?"

Cadance pulled back to stare into Shining Armor's cerulean eyes, glittering with hope, and smiled. "Yeah. Business."

Shining Armor was known all around Equestria as one of the bravest, most fierce, and most loyal ponies that ever lived. He took his orders directly from Princess Celestia herself, and with nary a complaint or unfounded argument, he carried out her commands willingly and efficiently. It had been proven time and time again that Shining Armor never allowed anything to keep him from his responsibilities, as he was much too involved in the security of Equestria. Nothing had ever been able to distract him from his work, for the blue-eyed unicorn was much too dedicated to the protection of his home.

Nothing except love, of course.

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**R&R.**

**If you'd like, you may also request a writing prompt that starts with the letter C. It would be appreciated.  
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